All stories by Brian Logan on BroadwayStars

Thursday, November 11, 2021

Homeless stars, endless spaghetti and amplified farts: the comedians of TikTok by Brian Logan

Speech is out. Daft captions are in. Nearly everyone is beautiful. And one guy amassed 11m followers while living in emergency accommodation with his mum. Our critic samples TikTok comedy I�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:12AM
Thursday, November 4, 2021

Ahir Shah: Dress review – laughs about life under lockdown by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonCoronavirus and woke capitalism lead to pleasing, if patchy, polemics in the comic’s latest show “A chronicle of everything that’s happened to me over the last 18 m…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Brian & Roger: A Highly Offensive Play review – podcast duo’s OTT exploits by Brian Logan

Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonThe misadventures of a hapless hero led astray by his false friend are funny but don’t quite fill three dimensions There was a setback last month for this p…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:42AM
Sunday, October 31, 2021

Simon Brodkin: Troublemaker review – quality jokes hide man behind the prankster by Brian Logan

Leicester Square theatre, LondonThe comic who showered Fifa’s Sepp Blatter with banknotes reveals little of the person under the character comedy mask What a coy coming-out party of a sho…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:36AM
Tuesday, October 26, 2021

From hilarity to hardback: the comedy shows that became books by Brian Logan

Haley McGee, James McNicholas and Mo Gilligan talk about the tricky business of turning stage performances into a reading experience When developing her solo show The Ex-Boyfriend Yard Sale,…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12AM
Sunday, October 24, 2021

Grayson Perry: A Show for Normal People review – embracing eccentricity by Brian Logan

Royal Festival Hall, LondonThe artist’s energetic live show splices together standup, anecdotes and singing – all inspiring us to flee the monochrome and mundane “Ted Talk – the pant…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM
Thursday, October 21, 2021

The Lemon Table review – Julian Barnes’ stories of mortality and musicality by Brian Logan

Salisbury PlayhouseIan McDiarmid is outstanding in two pieces, one as an angry audience member and one a composer’s coda Halfway through Vigilance, the first act of Ian McDiarmid’s solo …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:36PM
Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Alan Carr review – saucy riffs and showbiz tales by Brian Logan

Milton Keynes theatreGood albeit digressive gags keep the routines endearingly amusing in the comic’s new touring show Regional Trinket “I hate being camp,” says Alan Carr, which would…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:24AM
Friday, October 15, 2021

The Good Life review – self-sufficiency sitcom loses the plot on stage by Brian Logan

Theatre Royal BathThe much-loved TV series becomes a series of set-pieces rather than a satisfying drama in this stage adaptation Much is made, in the publicity around this stage refit of Th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:03PM
Thursday, October 14, 2021

Liz Kingsman: One-Woman Show review – wicked, whip-smart skewering of Fleabag and co by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonKingsman spoofs the look-at-me egotism that sometimes animates solo shows, as she heaps meta layer upon layer in a tour de force It seems like five minutes ago that Phoeb…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:42AM
Sunday, October 10, 2021

Mo Gilligan review – expert social anthropology from the boy next door by Brian Logan

Hammersmith Apollo, LondonGilligan’s cartoonish parade of misunderstandings and manipulations have perspective and heart When you get rich and famous for your relatable comedy, how do you …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:24PM
Friday, October 8, 2021

Glamrou: From Qur’an to Queen review – coming-of-age comedy with pizzazz by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonAmrou Al-Kadhi’s drag alter ego, poised between self-absorption and self-irony, delivers a tart, funny and swaggering tale “Too gay for Iraq, too Iraq for gay.” Tha…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:48AM
Thursday, October 7, 2021

Njambi McGrath: Accidental Coconut review – a fresh take on colonialism by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonMcGrath is smart and sardonic about the after-effects of British imperialism in Africa – even if she’s just skimming the surface The Berlin Conference of 1884, the le…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM
Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Dave Chappelle: The Closer review – aggressive gags and feeble protests by Brian Logan

NetflixRather than explore the blind spots within modern gender and racial thinking, the comedian’s latest special triples down on the phobia ‘I’m going all the way,” is Dave Chappel…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:03AM
Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Jenny Eclair: Sixty! (FFS!) review – sexagenarian schtick from a joyous comic by Brian Logan

Bloomsbury theatre, LondonThe comedian is on ebullient form in a gossipy touring show about entering one’s seventh decade You can understand why Jenny Eclair might focus her standup on the…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:03AM
Monday, September 27, 2021

Sh**ged Married Annoyed review – hit podcast makes mildly amusing night out by Brian Logan

London PalladiumChris and Rosie Ramsey’s material about their married life is jolly enough, but a five-minute advertorial is rather less so It has 65m downloads and counting. It claims the…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24PM
Sunday, September 26, 2021

Ricky Gervais review – white heterosexual millionaire titters at his own taboos by Brian Logan

London PalladiumThe veteran provocateur, with his usual equal offensiveness policy, is amusing when he isn’t railing at straw men in this revival of his 2019 show Supernature “I’m a wh…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM
Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Blithe Spirit review – Jennifer Saunders can’t save this deadly revival by Brian Logan

Harold Pinter theatre, London A lovely physical performance by Saunders brings moments of joy to an otherwise unsettled production of Noël Coward’s comedy You can have a seance to get in …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:18PM
Monday, September 20, 2021

Russell Brand review – piety, politics and parenting by Brian Logan

Royal and Derngate, Northampton The spiritual comedian’s lofty aspirations make way for funny riffs on fatherhood and lockdown in a self-ridiculing set Are we here for laughs, or spiritual…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:12PM
Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Live at the Globe with Dara Ó Briain review – a tempest of great gags by Brian Logan

Shakespeare’s Globe, LondonThe Mock the Week man clearly enjoys his turn on the prestige stage, and Jen Brister, Athena Kugblenu and Nina Conti are able supporting players If you must ente…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:18AM
Thursday, September 9, 2021

Olga Koch review – uproarious, gleefully obscene comedy by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe Russian-born comic racks up the punchlines as she auditions to be a Bond girl, considers British quirks and recalls her schooldays The comedian from far afield, obser…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:18PM
Monday, September 6, 2021

The Mighty Kids Beatbox Comedy Show review – extraordinary vocal gymnastics and doofus energy by Brian Logan

London Wonderground, Earls Court, LondonJarred Christmas’s human cartoon antics and Hobbit’s virtuoso microphone skills jolly the crowd along – but the show wasn’t as interactive as …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:24PM
Friday, September 3, 2021

Simon Amstell review – shame, self-analysis and great gags by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe comedian flops in a New York hotel room, sheds his inhibitions at an ayahuasca ceremony and visits a Berlin sex club as he explores his midlife crisis No one zeroes i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:42AM
Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Henry Normal: ‘Comedy’s like sugar. It makes things better but I wouldn’t eat it on its own’ by Brian Logan

The producer whose TV hits include The Royle Family and Gavin and Stacey on finding the poignancy in life’s little moments, and heading back to the comedy circuit with his poetry Comedians…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36PM
Friday, August 27, 2021

Bloody Mary Live! review – an audience with the killer queen by Brian Logan

Assembly Festival Garden, CoventryOlivia Miller dazzles in this tart and punky solo show, which reimagines the Tudor monarch as an in-yer-face Gen-Z teen You might consider the fraught life …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:12PM
Thursday, August 26, 2021

Diane Chorley: Modern Love review – Duchess of Canvey’s hymn to solidarity by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, London After months of being starved of social contact, David Selley’s celebration of togetherness couldn’t be better timed Diane Chorley’s show made a splash two years a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:12AM

Clowntime review – it’s a crime not to be funny in John Feffer’s dystopia by Brian Logan

Online@theSpaceUKGuileless hero Christopher Blank is ‘born without a single funny bone in his body’ in a one-man play that paints a near future US in broad brushstrokes Comedians becomin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:12AM

Hamlet, Cabaret and a fistful of Romeos: the best theatre, comedy and dance of autumn 2021 by Arifa Akbar, Brian Logan and Lyndsey Winship

Cush Jumbo tackles the troubled prince, Jessie Buckley and Eddie Redmayne head for 30s Berlin, while standup favourites and dance spectaculars burst back on the stage Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:12AM
Monday, August 23, 2021

Dead Ringers Live review – genteel mimicry needs an audience to fire it up by Brian Logan

London WondergroundDon’t expect the shock of the new from the BBC Radio 4 stalwart, but audience suggestions and music really lift the second half Is it a live show – or an impersonation…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:54PM
Sunday, August 22, 2021

Joe Thomas: the post-Inbetweeners comedown by Brian Logan

The ex-Inbetweener’s new work-in-progress standup show, about breaking beyond being typecast, has a self-lacerating character The maladroit comic parlaying their anxiety into humour is as …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:42PM
Sunday, August 15, 2021

Mark Thomas: Seriously Annoying review – heartfelt angry protest against proposed new law by Brian Logan

Arcola theatreThe comedian draws on his Clapham childhood and violent dad as he rails against the dangers of the government’s police, crime, sentencing and courts bill “Behaviour that ca…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:54PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic